A WELCOME FROM OUR PARTNERS
Allan Rennie, Editor in Chief, Sunday Mail
At the Sunday Mail we are all proud to be part of the biggest and glitziest celebration of our nation’s young people.
Little did we imagine when we first launched this night in 2006 how it would grow and thrive.
Its success is down to the commitment and hard work of all our partners and sponsors.
But above all to our superstars - the inspirational young people who take centre stage at the Young Scot year after year.
I believe the Young Scot has played a major part in getting rid of all these tired old stereotypes about young people.
As I father of three twentysomething, I do have an idea of how tough its is being a young person in today’s challenging economic environment.
This night is a reminder to the nation of how brilliant our young people are.
And how today, we need to ensure that this treasured asset is nurtured.
So if you know a young person aged between 11 and 26 who deserves recognition, get your nominations in today.
I hope you will join us for the best party of the year in the company of young Scots, and some surprise guests. See you on April 26.
Allan Rennie
Louise Macdonald, Chief Executive, Young Scot
Hello and welcome to the home of the award-winning Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards! I hope you join us in our mission to recognise and celebrate the wonderful achievements of Scotland’s young people and nominate a young visionary today.
The Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards gives us a fantastic opportunity to impart the outstanding achievements of Scotland’s inspiring young people. Stories are a powerful way of sharing an individual’s experiences and allow us as a society to explore the world and the people around us.
Last year’s Awards’ ceremony was an incredible night spent recounting the everyday stories that truly depict our young people, and this year’s promises to be no different. But it is important to remember the Young Scot Awards is not just a one-night event. The Awards provides us with a catalogue of remarkable experiences to share with print, broadcast and online media to promote a positive image of Scotland’s young people; and our invaluable partnership with the Sunday Mail allows us to do exactly that.
Megan MacDonald, our overall winner from last year, is just one example of the masses of young people who continue to make a positive impact within their communities. Megan won Young Scot of the Year 2011 for her work with Oxfam Scotland in encouraging action on climate change. Thanks to her dedicated work within her community, the local area has been awarded £100,000 from the Postcode Lottery to increase the number of volunteers involved and to support the islanders whilst they adapt to the new ways of making a living. At only 14 years old, Megan has produced a lasting legacy within her hometown but her story is only one of thousands out there.
We are once again thrilled to have The Co-operative Foundation return as our headline sponsors for the 2012 Awards. Our partnership project Truth About Youth has gone from strength to strength in challenging the negative perceptions of young people in Glasgow and you will be pleased to see our special Truth About Youth category is again open for nominations.
A special thanks to our Dialogue Youth network partners in every local authority in Scotland and our sponsors across the public, private and voluntary sectors for the vital support they provide young people. And to our friends and colleagues at the Sunday Mail to whom the success of the Awards depend, thank you for sharing our passion and admiration for this country’s young generation.
It is an absolute pleasure to award our young, talented and generous individuals who are regularly involved in activities that are to the benefit of themselves, their communities and the environment. I hope that as you navigate through this website, the testimonials and pictures from previous ceremonies help you to reflect on an encounter you’ve had with an exciting young person and inspires you to tell us their story by nominating them today. It only takes one nomination to start to change the picture.
Best of luck to all our nominees!
Louise Macdonald
